Method of and means fob intimate mixing of fltjids



H. E.\LA BOUR.

METHOD OF AND MEANS FOR INTIMATE MIXING 0F FLUIDS.

APPLICATION msn APR. 8. 19m.

1,318,774. v Patented 0f.14,1919.

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' HARRY E. LA IBOUR, OF :CHICAGO HEIGHTS, ILLINOIS."

METHOD OF AND MEANS IOR INTIMATE MIXING 0F .FLUIDSy Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented oct. 14, i919.

Application led April 8, 1918. Serial No. 227,206.

To all 'who/a it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARRY E. LA Boon, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago Heights, in the county of ook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and' useful Improvement in- -Methods of and Means for Intimate Mixing of Fluids, of which the following is a full, clear, concise,-and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

My invention relates to method of and means for intimate mixing of fluids.

While the invention is particularly applicable to the mixing of gases and liquids, I do not intend to limit the same to the above function, as it is applicable to the mixing yof fluids in general. In devices of the prior art for the bringing together and mixing of gases and liquids, great difficulty has heretofore been experienced, first., in producing an efficient and uniform uid curtain, second,

'in handling corrosive fluids or those con-A taining sediment and third, in obtaining efiicient mixing Without breaking the fluid up into a fine spray or mist which must later be washed to prevent entrainment. The problem of mixing fluids, as for instance a liquid and gas, has heretofore been generally met by spraying or atomizing the liquid into a chamber of relatively stationary gas or intola current of gas, or by passing the gas through the body of liquid. The contact betweenv the gas and the liquid is, at

best, far from intimate andy is relatively limited and not satisfactory. My invention has been designed to overcome the diiculties above enumerated. I have conceived the possibility of securing much greater eliiciency and greater effect by c mbodying a number of novel actions .or prlnciples in a device for such mlxlng of lulds.

I have discovered that a liquid can lbe brought into intimate mixture with the gas for purposes of evaporation, chemical action or the like and then completely 'separated without-entraining any appreciable amount of the liquid as such.l I move the liquid in the/form of an expanding sheet or curtain which breaks up into drops or droplets and ,I move the vfluid in a similar expanding sheet or curtain at a small angle to the line of movement of theliquid sheet or curtain, so that the two sheets or curtains are brought into intimate contact for a relatively long period oftheir travels. Prefer- I ably these sheets or curtains of liquid and of gas are produced by rotary apparatus, but it is to be understood that plain jets or nozzles of a suitable character may be employed. The casing about the two curtains is in the form of a downwardly aring wall. This wall causes .the liquid to be deflected downwardly into a dead space or pocket, or what might be termed a zone or region of quiet where the liquid may settle and be withdrawn. The gas passesv upwardly and out of the to of the casing.

I have discovered that y giving the gas a Arotary motion as it passes up along the converging walls, it throws down any drops or particles of liquid that might be entrained.

I have discovered further that the eiliciency may be still further increased by giving the liquid a rotary motion, so that when the same breaks up into drops this motion will cause the drops or droplets to rotate individually. This I consider has a double effect; lirst, of Acausing continuous wiping actionof the surface of thecurtain and the individual droplets upon the surrounding gas and second a rotative motion of the particles develops a centrifugal effect which tends, even if small, to overcome to some extent the surface tension of the liquid. A further novel principle which I have ein` bodied is, that of expanding the gas to rarefy the same during the .period that such intimate mixing occurs and then later subjecting it to compression, preferably by 'a centriliing action, particularly for throwing out such particles as might be in suspension and notvaporized.

yOther novel principles and actions are employed as will be clear from the follow -wardly in a relatively thin sheet or curtain immediately below the spreading spray of the liquid. The result is a thin standing sheet of gas below a thin standing sheet of liquid. The liquid, as it is spread outwardly, breaks at a short distance from the spreading disk into drops or droplets which fly out and striking the downwardly inclined wall of the casing. The gas expands as it leaves the impeller element and therefore provides a better condition for the absorption of vapor from the liquid.

A The liquid strikingthe casing drops down compressed. At the same time the whirling of the gas, produced by the rotating impeller, centrifis the gas, throwing out and separating any particles of the liquid that have become entrained. y

In order-to acquaint those skilled in the art with the manner of constructing and practising my invention I shall now describe one embodiment of the same.. in connection with the accompanying drawings which form a part pf the present specification.

,Figure 1 is a' plan view of the device embodying mylinvention with the upper part of the casing removed;

' Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view;

Fig. 3 is a diagram illustrating the manner in which the gas passes through the curtain of liquid; and

Fig. 4 is a diagram illustrating the motion of the individual particles of liquid.

The liquid to be handled is pumped or fed upon a revolving plate or disk 1, as by -means of the pipe 2, being discharged upon the center of the plate 1. The disk l is mounted upon a spindle 3 which has bears f lngs as shown at l and 5. which in turn are supported upon the stationary Spindle 6. The stationary spindle is secured upon a bracket 7 mounted upon the lower half 8 of the casing. The spindle 6 is preferably secured by the taper 9 and the nut 10 in the 'bracket 7. A cup 11 for lubricating materal coummnicates with the bore in the central spindle G, which is shown in dotted linesl at 12. .The central bore 12 has Side outlets as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2. to permit lubricating material to be discharged within the space between the hollow spindle 3 and the stationary spindle 6. flhe hollow live spindle 3 is provided at lts lower end with a' pulley 13, by .which the same is driven. If desired, the spindle may be otherwise mounted and driven.

A series of impeller blades 14 are formed preferably integrally on the lower surface of the spreading disk 1. These impellers have a recess 15 cut in the central part of the same to provide a balancing effec-t on the fluid discharged therefrom upon the spindle These impellers serve as a centrifugal pump for throwing the lowermost curtain of fluid.

The upper part 17 of the casing is preferably formed conical for a purpose later to be described, the parts 8 and 17 being secured together by fl.nges 18 and bolts or rivets 19. is provided with a horizontal bottom portion 20. T his bottom part or member 20 is provided with a .plurality of outlets 21 for the discharge of liquid and is provided near the center with a plurality of inlets 22 for the admission of gas ory other fluid. A frusto-conical wall 23 separates the inlet openings from the outlets to provide two chambers-namely the central chamber 25 for the admission of gases or other fluids and the mixing chamber 26 in which the fluids are intimately mixed.

A circular flange 27 extends around the lower edge of the frusto-conical wall 23 to form a liquid seal between the` chambersy 25 and 26. The lower edge, of the wall 23 is cut away at intervals as shown at 28 to permit the escape of any liquid which enters the interior of the chamber 25 andto form a liquid seal between the lowerl edge of the wall 23 and the bottom wall 20 of the main casing. The' inlet openings 22 are surrounded by flanges 30 which prevent the liquid seal from escaping therethrough.

A flange 31 is formed about the central .opening through which the livespindle 34 passes and the live spindle is Provided with a petticoat 32 to form a seal about said live spindle. It can thus beseen that the two chambers are at this point 'effectively closed off' from each other. The bearings are iso-- lated from either gas or liquid by the above arrangement.

At the upper end of the'conical wall 23 I have provided the conical wall or flange 33 which hasa central opening 3l for admitting fluid from the chamber 25 to the recess 15 in the impeller element.

The lower edge of each impeller blade isA inclined downward toward the live spindle 3 and the conical flange 33 is for ied to fit relatively closely-to the-lower edg of said impeller 14.

The upper portion ofthe casing section 17 is provided witlran olltlet 35 being formed preferably with a flange 36 for the attachment of' a discharge pipe.

The operation of the device thus described is as follows:

The liquid is pumped or otherwise discharged through lche pipe 2 upon the center of the revolving disk 1'. This disk is revolved at a high speed. The liquid then travels from the center to the edge of the disk and the liquid takes on a constantly increasing velocity and spreads out uniformly over the plate. There is, however,

The lower part of the casing 8 I a certain amount of slip between the liquid and the plate. This causes the liquid film to partake not only of an outward velocity, but also of .a rolling and rotary motion which puts the liquid into lviolent agitation so that as it spreads outwardly it breaks up into drops. These drops then have an outward and circular motionjand also' a planetary or rotary motion on their own individual axes. This action is illustrated diagrannnatically in Fig. 4 in which the droplet 37 has the forward motion represented by the arrow 38 and also the rotative or rolling motion illustrated bythe arrow 39.l

It will be seen from this-that a fluid curtain of considerable-density can be formed, which will still permit the passage of gas between thel rollingdrops and at the same time force intimate contactbetween the liquid and the gas. I have illustrated this The upper half of the casing 17 is mad conical, or of .such a shape as will deflect the flying drops down-ward so that they may collect in the lower half of the casing 8 and pass out through the discharge or outlet openings 21. The fluid is thrown from the disk 1 against the conical casing 17, thus completing the liquid curtain entirely across the mixing chamber 26. Due to the shape of the casing, the liquid is deliecte'cl downward and passes on out. Y. The annular space below the mixing 'plane and between the conical walls 17 and 23 forms a dead space or pocket 50 into which the liquid is projected by striking the inclined walls 17. Here the liquid is deflected out of the current of -gas so that even if the liquid be broken into the form of a'l fine spray it will not be entrained but will be separated out of the mixture. The spent gases passing through the fluid curtain, have a rotating motion in the same d1rection as that of the plate and due to the centrifugal force, they are scrubbed against the conical walls abovethe curtain, thus still further preventing` entrainment I have found that the whirll ing action of the gases extends upward and persists in the discharge pipe for quite a distance, in some casesas much as 8` ft. This centriffing. action throws' out any particles which have been entrained and thoroughly scrubs the gases against the walls of the casing and the discharge pipe..

The lower part of the casing is preferably provided with mounting lugs or feet 43 and the upper 'part of the casing is preferablyY provided with a discharge pipe 42 for the spent gases.

The gases enter the openings 22 and pass into the chamber 25, passing up through the reduced pressure. After the gasesl pass up the conical wall of the casing section 17, as previously explained, they are subjected to the centrifugal action which scrubs them .against the walls of the casing and simultaneously throws outl any entrained particles of liquid. v

l.The advantages of this apparatus and method of operation are apparent,A particularly in the case ofthe mixing of corrosive materials or materials 'containingsediment I have found that thedevice is highly efficient for washing and moistening air. A further important use' of this device is in the evaporation of moisture from liquids below the normal boiling point, such as concentrating acids or alkalis. I have found by tests that the economy of one operation of this device approximates a single effect vacuum evaporation. v

In the drawings I have shown only a few rows of drops'being thrown olf of the disk 1. It is to be understood that the action is not dependent upon the amount of liquid thrown olf from the disk. l In practice I discharge the liquid upon the spreading disk 1 at a much higher rate than would be assumed from the drawing,.and in fact I discharge the liquid upon this plate very rapidly and to the'extent of forming quite a dense curtain of liquid.

There are numerous situations where it is desired to absorb chemical vapors or gases in liquids and for this function my invention finds a very great use.

As a means for. cooling hot liquids or gases the device is of great use. I find that it is possible to cool hot alkaline solutions very efficiently with practically .zero en trainment.

I do not intend to be limited to the precise .simultaneously discharging a blast of gas in the same general direct-ion in contact with the liquid, and then deflecting the liquid laterally in one direction into a ydead space or pocket to separate the same from the gas andmoving the gas laterally in the opposite direction.

2. The method of intimately mixing a gas and a liquid, which comprises projecting a land a liquid, which comprises projecting a sheet of liquid radially from a central point, projecting a sheet of gas below the liquid radially and at a slightly upward inclination with respect to the liquid, passing said gas through the liquid, separating said liquid and said gas and collecting the gas above and the liquid below the region of mixture.

3. The method of intimately mixing a liquid and a gas, which comprises projecting a drop of liquid in asubstantially horizontal direction, causing the drop to rotate on its axis, projecting a blast of gas below the drop in a path inclined upwardly to the horizontal, then delecting the drop out of the blast of gas into a dead space or pocket, and then subjecting the gas to a centrifugal action to separate out any entrained part of the liquid.

4. The method of intimately mixing a gas curtain of drops of liquid and projecting a sheet of gas in substantially the same direction, passing the gas through the curtain of liquid, delecting the liquid laterally out of the Amoving gas into a pocket or dead space and then subjecting the gas to centrifugal action to disentrain any of the liquid.

5. The method of intimately mixing a liquid and a gas which comprises projecting the liquid in a sheet or curtain of drops substantially horizontally and simultaneously projecting a blast of gas in a sheet or curtain below the sheet or curtain of liquid substantially horizontally but slightly upwardly, passing the gas upwardly through the liquid and deflectingthe liquid down out of-the blast of gas into a dead space or pocket.

6. The method of intimately mixing a gas and a liquid, which comprises projecting a sheet of liquid radially from a central point, projecting asheet of gas below the liquid radially and at a slightly upward inclination with respect to the liquid, passing said 4gas through the liquid, deflecting the liquid out of the moving gas into a dead space below the region of mixture, and collecting the gas'above the region of mixture.

7. The method of intimately mixing a gas anda liquid, which comprises projecting ay drop of liquid in a generally horizontal path and vprojecting a blast of gas in contact with the drop of liquid in the same general direction, causing the drop to rotate in contact with the blast of gas, deflecting the drop of liquid out of the blast of' gas and-passing the gas up above the drop.

8. The method of intimately mixing a gas and a liquid, which comprises projecting a series of drops of the liquid in a plane, then projecting a blast of gas in a plane slightly inclined to the plane of the liquid, then passing the gas through the liquid,

causing the drop of liquid torotate-in contact with the blast of gas and deflecting the drop down into a dead space out of the path of the gas.

9. The method of intimately mixing a liquid and a gas, which comprises projecting a drop of liquid in a substantially horizontal direction, causing the drop to rotate on its axis, projecting a blast of gas substantially horizontally in contact with the drop, but at a slight upward inclination to the path of the drop, and then detlecting the drop downwardly into a dead space or pocket and moving the gas upwardly.

10. The method of intimately mixing a liquid and a gas, which comprises projecting a drop of liquid in a substantially horizontal direction, causing the drop to rotate on its axis, projecting a blast of gas below the drop in a path inclined upward to the horlzontal, then delecting the drop down out of the blast of gas and then subjecting the gas to centrifugal action to separate out any entrained part of the liquid.

l1. The method of Causing an intimate mixture of liquids and gases which comprises putting a column of gas into longitudinal motion and while it is in motion producing therein a region of rarefied pressure in the form of a transverse plane, projecting a liquid in the form of drops transversely through the column of said gas and .through said plane.

l2. The method of causing an intimate mixture of gases and liquids which comprises putting a column of gas into motion longitudinally, reducing the pressure in said column in a region extending transversely thereof, and projecting through said region of low pressure, liquid in the form of drops and causing the drops to Whirl on their axes.

13. The method of intimately mixing a gas and a liquid, which comprises projecting a curtain of liquid drops into a body of gas moving in substantially the same direction, at reduced pressure and causing the drops to whirl on their axes .and delecting the drops down into a dead space or pocket out ,of the path of the gas.

14. The method of intimately mixing a gas and a liquid, which comprises projecting a curtain of drops of liquid and projecting a sheet of gas in substantially the same direction, passing the gas through the curtain of liquid, deliecting the liquid laterally out of the moving gas and then subjecting the gas to centrifugal action to disentrain any of the liquid.

15. In combination, a casing having a conical wall, a rotatable spreading disk in said casing, adapted to project a Y liquid against said conical wall and means` for 4 let inits lower conical wall with its a discharge `opening at the 4upper en Agas and havin discharge outlets at lower end for liquid, a rotatable 5 rotatable spreading disk for spreading liquid and projecting the same against said conical wall and a fluid limpeller for pro- 'ecting a fluidl ,in the same general direction as the liquid from said disk. 17. In combination, a casing having an outlet in its upper end for gases and an outend for liquids, a separatgas chamsrnaller end upward, for the ing wall in said casing forming a ber, means for chamber, an impeller pump for projecting a sheet of gas radially outwardv and a spreading disk above saidinpeller lpump for projectin a sheet of liquid outward.^ 18. In com ination, a rotating diskV for spreading a liquidbyl centrifugal action and animpeller for lighter fluids immediately below said spreading disk and means for driving said disk and said impeller.

19. In combination, a casing conical wallwith its smalei end upward, a discharge outlet at said smaller. end, a rotatable spreading disk dapted toproject a sheet or curtain of liquidagainst said conical wall, and means'for'torcing 'a blast of lighter fluid radially goutward a-nd through the sheet or curtain of liquid.

20. In combination, va mixing chamber, a -gas chamber, a liquid inlet pipe, 'a spreaddisk in the mixing chamber, pellei` pump below the spreading diskland in communication with the gas chamber and means for rotating said spreading disk and saidimpeller pump. .21. In combination, a lower portion casing having a L conical portion, al circular wall within said casing and forming, in connection with the bottom of said casing, a gas chamber, means `for maintaining a liquid seal on said gas chamber, an inwardly extending flange on said latter conical wall, the gas'impeller member fitting closely said flange, said impeller member communicatin with the gas chamber and a spreading disk for liquid above the impellei member.

22. In combination, a -gas chamber having a circular wall with a flange, a spindle passing axially through said annular flange, a rotating member -V on said spindle, said rotating member comprising a device for spreading liquid, and a plurality of iinpeller blades extending from below the device adjacent to the flange from the gas chamber and projecting the same outwardly at a small, angle to the angle of movement ofliquid from the device.

23. In combination, a vcasing havin a conical wall with its smaller end upwar a.

shaft, a i

casing having a closed bottom, t l tion joiningA the lower" cylindrical settion, introducing gas into said.

resting upon the v disk above said *impeller member. having a `'mounted with respect to the 'casin g and an imi outlet atits upper-end,

and an upper conical portion' with a gas outlet at the upper end of thel discharge opening at the upper end, a. spreading disk rotatably-mounted in said casing for throwing a sheet or curtain of liquid against the conical walls, said liquid when projected against the conical walls being adaptedto be deflected downward, means for supplying liquid-tojsaid disk and means fonprojecting a blast of fluidthrougli the sheet or curtain of liquid and at a small angle thereto.

24. In combination, aglower cylindrical said conical Vsection having its smaller end upward and having a discharge opening in the smaller end, an annular separating wall bottom of the cylindrical casing section, a flange on the inturned flange on the upper end of said annular wall, an impeller member moving close t0 said annular flange and a spreading 25. In combination, a ca ing having-a mixing'cham'ber and afluid inlet chamber, a

hollow live spindleproj ting through due of saic chambers, rotatable mixing means on' said spindle and av stationary spindle'rigidly je'cting intoV the hollow live spindle, a having. an opening `through 'hichf vthe spindles, project," and rictionless means.

sealing' said 'openingf againstthe escape of liquids. .v

l26.'In combination, a casing having an a dead space or pocket at its lowerl end and` anupwardly and inwardly inclined wall'joining .the wall ofthe dead space or pocket and the wallet the outlet, mean thin curtain or wall atsuch an an a conical sec-- n bottoni wall" for maintaining afliquid" seal, an-.annnlar s for projecting liquid in a4`v stream toward the inclined vle as tol cause deflectionA of the liquid down into lthe dead space or i pocket, andV means for discharging .y of gasin' the same general 'direction as the liquid and at a slight u wardinclination thereto, said gas passing t rough the liquid blast in intimate contact therewith and .out of the outlets.

27.- In Va device .of the kind described in iis combination, a casing'having a wall inclined inwardly and upwardly, said casi-ng hav` ing a pocket below said inclined wall, a rotatable spreading disk in said. casing adapted to'project liquid against said inclined wall and thereby deflect thesame into said pocket and means for projecting a blastA of'fluid radially from un contact `.with the liquid.,

28. In.s combination, a casing having an outlet, h sloping wall immediately below the outlet, a rotating disk for spreading a liquid by centrifuga action and, 1-throwing theA said liquid radiallyafa'gams sloping wall, an a rotary element having er the vdisk into l means for projecting lighter uids immedi tely below said spreading disk and means for driving said disk and element.

the drop from the gas. l

3l. The improvement herein/ described, which compris s projecting' drops ofra liquid rotating on their own axes into a stream of gas in substantially the direction of How of the gas and at high speed, whereby the liquid is entrained, then delecting the drops of liquid into a dead space or pocket and thereby causing the disentrainment of the liquid drops.

32. The in'iprovem'ent herein described which comprises projecting a curtain of liquid drops through a moving body of gas maintained lat less than atmospheric pressure, and causing the drops to whirl on their own axes, then separating the liquid drops from the gas.

33. The improvement herein described which comprises projecting a curtain o drops of liquid, whirling on their own axes into a body of gas moving in substantially the same direction, thereby entraining the liquid, then deiecting the liquid at substantially right angles into a region of quiet, thereby disentraining the liquid drops.

n' witness whereof I hereunto subscribe my name this 5th day of April, A. D. 1918.

HARRY E. LA BOUR. 

